Project Qatar to draw huge global crowd

May 05, 2014 - 1:00:23 am

Officials giving details of the upcoming Project Qatar 2014 at a press conference held in Doha yesterday.

Doha: Global companies are bullish on Qatar’s construction sector as more than 2,100 exhibitors from 47 countries will participate in the 11th edition of Project Qatar 2014 — an annual event which brings together stakeholders of construction and building material sector.

More than 45,000 professional visitors from 130 countries are expected to attend the event which will take place at the Qatar National Convention Centre from May 12 to May 15.

“Project Qatar is a key platform for the regional and international construction industry, with its market-leading capability to address industry issues, demonstrate case studies and partner organisations and professionals across the construction equipment and building materials sectors,” said George Ayache, General Manager of IFP Qatar and Organiser of Project Qatar while launching the 11th International Construction Technology and Building Materials Exhibition. “We extend a very warm welcome to our newcomers this year — Indonesia, Palestine and Romania,” he said.

Spread across 41,500sqm of indoor and outdoor exhibition space, Project Qatar will feature will feature 24 international pavilions. “The Italian Trade Commission (ICE) will be organising the Italian pavilion at Project Qatar 2014 and we are excited to be one of the most represented countries during the event. ICE is looking forward to providing a multitude of different services to the exhibitors and will host over 100 companies and associations under the 1000sqm Italian pavilion,” said Andrea Ferrari, Trade Commissioner of the Embassy of Italy in Qatar. This year Italy represents the biggest foreign participation at Project Qatar with more than 120 companies participating in the event.

“The amount of business leads generated last year amounted to QR100m. We are very confident that the 45 companies taking place at Project Qatar this year will open up further opportunities for expanding business,” said Sanjiv Arora, Ambassador of India in Qatar.

The opening ceremony of Project Qatar 2014 will be held on May 12 under the auspices of the Prime Minister and Interior Minister,

H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

“Qatar has huge construction and infrastructure plans in place for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the Qatar National Vision 2030. We see plenty of opportunities for business exchange with China and Qatar and we are very keen to take part in doing business in Qatar,” said Gao Youzhen, Ambassador of The People’s Republic of China in Qatar. “We have 76 companies taking part and the exhibitors will be involved with building materials, doors, windows, sanitation, engineering and construction, amongst others,” he said.

“Thanks to IFP Qatar, Austria’s 11 consecutive participations to Project Qatar helped established and new-to-the-market Austrian companies to reach out to the Qatari market and business partners and create new opportunities for both sides,” said Gerd Bommer, Commercial Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in Qatar.

“For the last 10 years, Germany has shown a strong representation featuring a wide range of German expertise in the field of construction. Close to 70 German companies will offer state-of-the-art technology to the thriving Qatari market,” said Angelika Storz-Chakarji, Ambassador of The Federal Republic of Germany in Qatar. Project Qatar 2014 includes two concurrent events — Qatar StoneTech 2014, The 3rd International Stone & Stone Technology Show and Heavy Max 2014, The 11th International Exhibition for Heavy Machinery, as well as three specialised conferences LightingTech Qatar on May 12 and May 13, HVACTech Qatar on May 14 and May 15 and Future Interiors Qatar that will take place on September 8 and September 9. The Peninsula